R13 Title: Fourth EU-US Workshop on `Nucleotide excision repair and crosslink repair ? from molecules to mankind. PI: Bennett Van Houten Abstract: We will address the state-of-the-art scientific progress for two closely related critical pathways: nucleotide excision repair (NER) and crosslink repair. Disruption of these pathways is associated with devastating heritable human conditions including: severe developmental abnormalities, cancer, bone marrow failure, neurodegeneration and premature aging. A large number of environmental insults both man-made and natural can cause DNA damage which is repaired through these two pathways. Moreover, for patients undergoing cancer treatment, DNA repair enzymes can counteract the efficiency of many important antitumor drugs and DNA repair enzymes constitute compelling, but underexplored, targets for drug design. The Workshop will frame the current state of the science and also articulate where the scientific direction for the field as current technical and scientific hurdles are overcome. The Workshop will move from molecular science to human biology exploring the basis of disease syndromes associated with defects in NER and crosslink repair as well as investigating strategies to inhibit these enzymes. The Workshop will provide an unparalleled forum for young scientists, including those from central and eastern Europe, to meet and engage with scientists from the EU and globally who are driving the field. The main goals of this workshop are to: 1) highlight the state of the science and current technologies being used to study this problem; 2) exchange ideas between scientists in the EU and US; and 3) provide a forum that allows scientists in the local region an opportunity to meet and engage with scientists from the EU and US who are driving the field.